Dolley Madison Biography

Born: May 20, 1768
New Garden, North Carolina
Died: July 12, 1849
Washington, D.C.
American first lady

Dolley Madison was the much-admired wife of the fourth U.S. president,
James Madison (1751–1836). She was highly respected by some of
history's greatest politicians, including President Andrew Jackson
(1767–1845), who

Dolley Madison.
Courtesy of the

National Archives and Records Administration

.

once described her as a "national institution." This was
high praise during a time when women were expected to remain in the
background and be seen but not heard.

Life in Philadelphia

Dolley Payne Madison was born on May 20, 1768, on a farm in New Garden,
North Carolina. Her parents were John Payne Jr. and Mary Coles Payne,
who were Quaker Virginians. (The Quakers were a religious society that
was started in the seventeenth century.)

In 1783 after the Revolutionary War (1775–83), in which the
American colonies fought for independence from British rule, her parents
made the decision to sell their plantation. They freed their slaves and
moved the family north when Dolley was fifteen years old. Her father
used the money made from selling the plantation to set up a business in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

When Dolley was nineteen years old, the representatives to the
Constitutional Convention (May 25–September 17, 1787) gathered in
Philadelphia. Many important representatives attended the convention,
which resulted in the creation of the U.S. Constitution. George
Washington (1732–1799), Alexander Hamilton (1755–1804),
and Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) were among those who attended
the convention. At this time Dolley saw for the first time a Virginian
named James Madison, who was later called the "Father of the
Constitution."

Family tragedy

Dolley Payne grew into a beautiful and popular woman. At the age of
twenty-one she met John Todd, a lawyer, and the two were married in
January 1790. The couple eventually had two sons. Then, in August 1793,
an outbreak of yellow fever (a deadly disease that is spread by
mosquitoes) occurred. A great number of people died, including
Dolley's husband and her youngest son. Although she also became
ill, she eventually recovered after a long, slow fight.

A new life

In the spring of 1794 James Madison requested a meeting with Dolley
Payne Todd. Madison was an extremely ambitious man
who was well known in Philadelphia. He helped draft the Constitution,
the document that represents the basic laws on which America is founded.
He also was responsible for suggesting the Bill of Rights, the first ten
constitutional amendments that safeguard an individual's civil
freedoms. Within a few weeks after the two met, it was widely rumored
that they were engaged. Although she denied this rumor, it proved to be
true, as Dolley Payne Todd and James Madison were married in September
1794.

Over the next several years, Dolley and James observed and at times were
directly involved in some of the most important events in the history of
the United States. In 1797 they saw John Adams inaugurated as president.
In 1801 Thomas Jefferson began the first of his two terms as president.
At that time, James Madison was made secretary of state. In 1803 the
United States bought the Louisiana Territory from France. As a result of
this purchase (the Louisiana Purchase), the United States had suddenly
doubled in size.

As first lady

When Jefferson decided not to run for a third term, James Madison was
elected president of the United States. Madison began his first term in
1809, and Dolley Madison became the first lady. Some say she took on the
job as if she had been born to fill it. She was widely known for her
caring and loving nature, her fashion sense, and her graceful manners.

In 1812 James Madison was reelected and the War of 1812 (1812–14)
began. The war was fought between Great Britain and the United States
over Britain's disregard for American neutrality and their
practice of boarding American ships and forcing sailors to join the
British navy. On August 24, 1814, British troops moved into Washington,
D.C., and Dolley Madison was told that she should leave the city. She
made certain that she saved her husband's important papers, the
silver, and a portrait of George Washington. Madison narrowly escaped
the British, who burned the Capitol Building and set fire to the
President's House.

In the following years, Madison witnessed the end of the war and James
Monroe's inauguration as president. After leaving office, the
Madisons moved to Montpelier, Virginia. They found peace in Virginia
during their retirement years. They spent their time improving
James's beloved home, where Dolley Madison would remain for the
next twenty years.

James Madison's death

James Madison died in 1836. He willed his papers to Dolley Madison so
that she could make some money by having them published. The Madison
papers were James's writings on the many years of significant
historical events. After her husband's death, Dolley Madison
moved back to Washington, D.C. She then sold some of her late
husband's papers to Congress and received $30,000 for them.

In the remaining years of Madison's life, she would see four
different presidents enter office, the rest of the Madison papers sold
to Congress, the laying of the first stone for the Washington Monument,
and the introduction of the first telegraph (an early communication
system). She had led a full, active, and productive life. On July 12,
1849, Dolley Madison died in Washington, D.C.

This biography has helped me out alot with my families heritage. In fact, Dolley Madison happens to be one of our great ancestors. She was a great figure in American history and we will always remember her as an amazing woman and a figure of our lives.

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